


Witch Hunt

by Roxiepluto



Series: DigiOTP Week 2017 [4]
Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: DigiOTPweek, F/M, Salem Witch Hunts, time period au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 15:57:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11854893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxiepluto/pseuds/Roxiepluto
Summary: She was just a young girl; this wasn’t how things were meant to go. She was meant to find a husband and get married and have kids and live a long and happy life, not be burned at the stake because of some invention she’d fancied making.





	Witch Hunt

“I think it needs a few more screws,” suggested Miyako as she and Izzi looked down at the curious little invention they were working on, “To reduce the chance of the cover exposing the workings.”

“I think you’re right,” agreed Izzi as he grabbed a screwdriver off the side and took one of the nails Miyako was already holding out to him.

Miyako loved coming to Izzi’s workshop; it felt like he was the only person in town who appreciated her intellect and didn’t just see her as a pretty face. No-one else in their tiny town understood the thrill of inventing things like they did, and maybe that was why they worked so well together. They both saw themselves as quite different to everyone else and maybe that drew them to one another.

Izzi was one of the smartest people that Miyako had ever met and sometimes she didn’t feel like she could even compare, but Izzi always seemed interested in her thoughts and took her opinions on board. It made her feel more valued here than anywhere else. It was what made her love him, even if he didn’t love her back.

Izzi finished with the screws and stood back up straight before he glanced at Miyako and asked, “Shall we see if it works?”

Miyako nodded excitedly; most of the inventions that they worked on were first designed and started by Izzi, with her just assisting in their completion but this time Izzi had let her come up with a design with the promise that they could work on it together.

Izzi gestured towards the small box and she smiled, warmth flooding her whole body as she reached out to her invention and wound the small cog at the back. The moment she stopped, the lid of the box sprung open and a beautiful tune began to spill from the box, its melody making her heart sing happily. It worked. Her invention really worked.

She found she couldn’t come up with any words until the cog slowly wound to a stop and the lid fell shut with a snap.

“Maybe we should add a mechanism to make the lid fall more gently,” suggested Izzi from next to her and she found herself nodding, even as she was still enchanted by the melody that had played moments ago. It made her feel sleepy.

When she didn’t respond verbally he looked over at her and tilted his head slightly to the side, “Are you tired?”

“Maybe just a little,” she replied with a small blush as she reached up to rub the sleep out of her eyes, embarrassed that he had noticed, “But it’s fine; I can keep going.”

“Working when you’re tired leads to mistakes,” reprimanded Izzi before giving a tiny smile, “We can continue this tomorrow; there’s no rush. Besides, I’m sure your family is wondering why you’re out so late.”

Miyako pursed her lips but knew he was right. Her mother and siblings did have a tendency to assume the worst, even when they knew where she would be.

“Alright,” she muttered with a resigned sigh as she picked up the music box, eager to show it to her siblings.

“Miyako…” said Izzi, his voice suddenly quiet.

Miyako turned, surprised to see a worried look on his face as he explained, “Be careful on your way home. They’re on the lookout for witches right now and they’ll take any strange behaviour as a good enough reason.”

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted, tucking the music box into her basket and covering it with a cloth, “I’m always careful.”

\--

Suddenly, Miyako was wishing she had been a lot more careful as she was being dragged, kicking and screaming, to where a pyre had been erected in the few hours it had been since she had tripped and fallen on the way home from work. That wouldn’t have been enough to cause any extra notice, if not for the music box that had fallen out of her basket and begun to play the melody, loudly, to everyone within hearing distance.

No-one believed her when she tried to explain that it wasn’t magic, but science instead, but if anyone had honestly cared, it was impossible to hear over the cries of “Witch!”

She had been thrown in a cell in the jail, with guards keeping an eye on her the whole time to make sure she didn’t try any funny business and now she was being escorted to a pyre to be burnt at the stake.

The adrenaline shot through her as she screamed once more, “I’m not a witch, I swear! Please, let me go!”

The men holding tightly to her arm were ignorant of her pleas and as much as she tried to catch the eyes of anyone in the crowd who knew her as she was dragged past, they all seemed to look away, unwilling to step in, in case they be labelled as a witch too. She couldn’t spot her family or Izzi anywhere in the crowd and her eyes widened fearfully. They were the only ones who cared enough to help and they weren’t here. Or maybe they cared enough not to want to watch, but not enough to risk themselves to save her.

“Please! I don’t want to die!” she exclaimed again, tears streaming down her face from the fear thrumming through her veins. She was just a young girl; this wasn’t how things were meant to go. She was meant to find a husband and get married and have kids and live a long and happy life, not be burned at the stake because of some invention she’d fancied making.

“Be quiet, Witch!” exclaimed one of the guards, wrenching her arm painfully as they dragged her up the pyre and to the giant stake in the middle of the soon-to-be fire.

She continued to beg and plead but no-one seemed to care as she was tied to the stake, her arms behind her back and her legs tied tight to the wooden pole.

“Miyako Inoue,” exclaimed one man from where he stood right in front of the fire, with a torch in his hand, “You have been accused of witchcraft and for that you will have a trial by fire. If you burn you are innocent, if you don’t, you are a witch.”

“I’m innocent!” she sobbed, her breathing coming out erratically as she stared fearfully at the fire in the man’s hands, “Please don’t kill me!”

“That is exactly what a witch would say,” he replied calmly before smiling, “If you are innocent then god will welcome you into heaven with open arms.”

“I’m not a witch!” she exclaimed, “Please! I don’t want to die yet!”

The man ignored her and turned to the waiting crowd, and Miyako felt the last of her hope fade as the man continued, “We perform this burning to root out the cause of evil in our fair town that caused the poor harvest this season. Let god be pleased at our actions and bless up with a bountiful harvest next year.”

“You’re all idiots!” she exclaimed, already knowing she was doomed and determined to go out only after giving them a piece of her mind, “The harvest was poor because of the weather, not because of some mysterious evil thing! Do you even understand logic? There is no evil in this town apart from the one you bring with all these pointless witch hunts!”

Izzi would have been proud of her if he had heard her say that; she just knew it. And as she watched the man light the bottom of the pyre and watched the flames fearfully, she realised that that was the one thing she would change if she could. She wished she had told Izzi how she felt, even if it had led to rejection. Now she would never know. Now he would never know.

Suddenly there was a hissing sound and she snapped her head up to see white smoke suddenly appear in front of the man who had just lit the pyre. She glanced around as she heard several more hissing sounds amongst the panicking voices in the crowd, seconds before the whole area was covered in smoke. It drifted around her like a cloak and she might have enjoyed it more if the heat from the fire wasn’t started to climb as it worked its way towards her. Men were shouting down below but it was impossible to tell what was happening when the smoke was so thick.

But then she spotted a figure coming towards her through the smoke as they quickly climbed up the still burning pyre. She felt the panic run through her; had they decided to just come up and kill her quickly?

But then the figure became clearer as they got closer and she felt the tears start anew, but this time in relief as she exclaimed, “You came for me?”

“Of course I did; I wouldn’t sit by and let them kill you,” replied Izzi, his face a mask of concentration as he leaned down and cut through the rope attaching her legs to the stake. She felt the sweat drip down as the heat continued to grow but Izzi didn’t abandon her as he moved quickly onto the ropes holding her arms in place. Within seconds she was free as she only had a moment to think on her freedom before Izzi had grabbed her hand and was pulling her quickly down the pyre.

She followed Izzi as he led them through the smoke and the crowd like he knew exactly where he was going and after a few moments the smoke began to thin out and Miyako spotted a horse and rider in the distance. The horse began to ride towards them and Miyako squeezed Izzi’s hand; what if the person was going to catch her and take her back?

“It’s part of the plan,” insisted Izzi, giving her hand a quick squeeze back. She nodded, even though she couldn’t work out exactly what was going on, until she spotted her brother on the stallion’s back as he stopped by them.

“Momotarou!” she exclaimed, relief flooding through her at the sight of her brother, “You came to save me!”

“I couldn’t let you die,” he replied, reaching his hand down to help her up which she gladly grabbed to help her get on. Izzi helped give her a push up and she sat behind Momotarou, clutching his sleeve to keep her steady, before Izzi scrambled on behind her, presumably resting his hands on the horse’s rump to keep himself balanced. Once he checked everyone was on safely, Momotarou ushered the horse on quickly back in the direction of their home.

Miyako knew what a perilous situation they were in but she couldn’t help but flush a little bit as she felt Izzi’s legs against hers. She wasn’t dying anymore; she could tell Izzi how she felt about him. Though she realised that it would be better to wait until they were out of danger first…

They continued to ride along, adrenaline still pumping around at the thought that the people might still be nearby and recapture her again but she realised that they weren’t going to their house at all; they were heading to the edge of the town.

“Where are we going?” she asked, turning in her seat so she could look at Izzi, who was frowning slightly.

“We’ve got to get you out of this town or they’ll find you eventually,” he explained, “Your family are meeting us at the edge of town.”

Miyako’s eyes widened; she was leaving town? She loved the town and everyone in it; it was her home, she didn’t want to go. But she realised that Izzi was right…if she stayed, they would find her eventually and this time they really would kill her.

She nodded quickly and turned back to see that she could see a carriage on the road ahead and she could make out her family; her mother and father and her two sisters all standing there and waiting for her. She almost burst into tears all over again at the look of relief on their faces when they all saw her.

When the got there, she jumped down as quickly as she could and threw herself into her mother’s waiting arms, quietly sobbing at the relief she felt, especially when she felt her father’s arms encircle her too.

“Thank goodness you’re okay,” whispered her mother into her ear, “We were so worried.”

“We wanted to help rescue you too,” explained Momoe, one of her sisters, as her parents let her go, “But Izzi said it would be safer if there were less people, so we got the carriage ready instead.”

“We’ve packed all your clothes and all your things and there’s enough food and money for the two of you to last you for a few weeks, until you can find somewhere else to live.”

Miyako blinked in confusion at her father as she asked, “The two of us?”

Her father raised an eyebrow, as though he’d thought she already knew before they explained, “Izzi is going to go with you.”

“What!” she exclaimed, quickly turning to face Izzi, who was standing just outside the family reunion circle, “But what about your workshop? And your parents? You can’t give up everything just to help me…”

Izzi shook his head and smiled fondly at her, “My parents understood when I told them, and my workshop doesn’t matter; together, we can make everything again but I could never find someone else like you, even if I spent my whole life searching.”

Miyako felt her cheeks flush as Izzi told her words she had never expected to hear him say.

Izzi looked away for a moment before he met her eyes once more, and said, “I want to ask you something Miyako but before I do, I want you to know that no matter your answer, I will keep you safe.”

Miyako’s brows furrowed as she wondered what on earth Izzi was talking about. He looked so serious and she tilted her head slightly in an invitation to explain.

Izzi took a deep breath and took something out of his pocket before he knelt down in front of her. Miyako’s eyes widened, her heart beating wildly once again as Izzi continued, “I planned to wait until a more opportune time but since your family are all here, it seems like a good chance so…” Izzi held out a ring towards her and asked, “Will you marry me?”

Miyako’s mouth opened soundlessly, no doubt for the first time in her life. This couldn’t be real, right? Her fantasies weren’t really happening, were they? She looked over to her family, as if they could tell her and her father shrugged and with a smile, replied, “You would have our blessing; he’s giving up everything to save you and I think he would make you very happy.”

Miyako turned back to Izzi who was waiting patiently on one knee on the floor and smiled as she reached out her hand to him, “He’s been making me happy for a long time…”

This time it was Izzi’s eyes who widened as he replied, “Really?”

Miyako nodded; now was the time to tell Izzi what she thought she’d almost lost her chance to say. “Izzi; I love you and I have for a long time so…if you really do want to marry me then…my answer is yes…”

Izzi’s surprise showed clearly in the way he nervously reached out for her hand but when she squeezed it gently, he seemed to understand and gently slid the ring onto her finger.

There was a bang somewhere in the distance back towards the town and they all hurriedly turned their heads over to it before Izzi said, “We’d better get going if we want to stay out of their reach.”

Miyako nodded before turning back to her family and quickly giving them all a hug goodbye. Her mother was the last one and she smiled tearily down at her and said, “I hope you’ll be happy wherever you end up.”

Miyako glanced back to Izzi to see him preparing the horses to leave before looking back to her mother with a warm smile. “I will be happy. Stay safe.”

Miyako gave her family a last wave before she ran over to Izzi who was about to get up into the driver’s seat. She grabbed his hand and he turned around in surprise, “Miyako?”

Miyako just smiled knowingly and leaned in, pressing her lips gently to Izzi’s own in a short kiss. When they parted, Izzi looked a little flushed and she grinned happily at him before breezing past him to climb up to the driver’s seat first.

Miyako was scared to leave everything she had ever known but she knew without a doubt, that as long as she was with Izzi, she would be not just safe, but very happy.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little story with one of my favourite OTP’s (if i ever rewrote the series, this would be one of the canon ships lol). I still feel like Miyako should have inherited the crest of knowledge from Izzi, instead of Cody and i think they would work amazingly well together since they both love technology and are both really smart. I think Miyako could bring Izzi out of his shell a bit too :)


End file.
